Two tornadoes hit Windsor-Essex at the same time on Aug. 24: Investigators
Investigators with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) from Western University say Thursday's storm across southwestern Ontario resulted in twisters touching down in Tecumseh and Windsor at the same time.
Both occurred around 10:30 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes causing destruction in the town and city.
David Sills, executive director for NTP, said they received about 100 reports of damage from Windsor and Tecumseh which helped researchers determine they were tornadoes.
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"Being able to put all of those reports together and put them on a map, we can certainly see how they line up in a long, narrow track in each case," said Sills.
"There were no pictures of the tornadoes. It wasn't until we started putting together all of the different tornado reports that we could see that they were in narrow lines coming down from the north-northwest and aligned with rotation on radar."
Collapsed barn from Lakeshore Road 103 is shown from ground level. (NTP)
Data shows the Tecumseh tornado was the stronger of the two, assessed as an EF-1 with an estimated maximum wind speed of 145 km/h.
It started in Tecumseh, running 14 kilometres down to Pleasant Park.
"There was additional damage to the southeast but further analysis is needed to know if it was related to this tornado," NTP said in an online statement.
The twister continued toward the southeast from Tecumseh, into the Municipality of Lakeshore, and went past Highway 401 to the northeast of Pleasant Park.
"The track of surveyed damage did continue further southeast but damage became sporadic. Additional analysis is required to know if it is related to this tornado or something else, possibly a second tornado."
Map showing the locations of ground photos of damage from Tecumseh tornado. (NTP/Google)
The confirmed tornado in Windsor was on the city's west side, according to NTP information, touching down around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 24.
It touched down along a path nearly 12 kilometres long, running from Sandwich Town, south-southeast through south Windsor, into LaSalle.
"Investigators say they've concluded an EF-0 twister — with speeds of 125 km/h — moved rapidly through the area," according to an online statement from the NTP.
Drone footage shows damage to Northway Avenue homes in Windsor, Ont. from an Aug. 24, 2023 tornado. (NTP)
"Start time is based on radar, which showed an area of tight rotation along the entire damage path. Note that radar suggests the entire event took less than 10 minutes."
According to their tracking, Sills says Canada's overall tornado activity has been down somewhat this year, with the exception of the Windsor and Ottawa areas.
Sills said historically Windsor-Essex has been able to avoid the amount of severe summer weather systems Michigan and Ohio often see because of Lake Erie providing "protection."
"You get that lake air moving in from the south over Essex County, and it tends to cause storms to dissipate after they cross over from Michigan. But, you know, in certain setups like the one we had where you've got tornadoes and storms coming down from the northwest, Lake Erie is not going to help you there."
Map showing locations in Windsor, Ont., where photos were taken from the ground along the 11.6 kilometre damage path. (NTP/Google)
Downbursts in Lambton County and Chatham-Kent
A downburst was also reported from Thursday's wild weather in the region on the northeast side of Chatham.
Around 11 p.m. NTP data suggests numerous trees were uprooted and snapped, and had large branches broken. There was also roof damage to several homes.
Investigators say wind speeds were as high as 125 km/h when the downburst struck.
Another downburst, but from the previous night's storm, Aug. 23, has also been confirmed in Lambton County.
It was near Dresden, at the south end of Lambton County around 6:30 p.m.
Damage is shown from a drone of Selkirk Street and Van Allen Avenue in Chatham, Ont., following a late night Aug. 24, downburst. (NTP)
Barns were damaged and trees were snapped over a wide area.
Unlike tornadoes, winds from downbursts go beneath storms resulting in outward burst pattern with wide damage paths.
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Thumbnail courtesy of Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) via CBC.
The story was written and published for CBC News.